KUWAIT CITY, February 12, 2015 – Addressing the twin challenges of scaling up universal health coverage (UHC) and containing non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)... Show More + region is the focus of a five-day policy seminar sponsored by the World Bank in coordination with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Middle East Center for Economics and Finance (CEF).The policy seminar brings together 37 senior level representatives from Ministries of Health, Finance, and Planning and health agencies in the MENA region, as well as representatives from academia and non- governmental organizations. Presentations by World Bank specialists with expert contributions from World Health Organization (WHO), Johns Hopkins University, US Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), are geared towards familiarizing policy makers and participants with global and regional experiences in scaling up universal health cover Show Less -

New World Bank Report Details the Varying Impacts of the Decline in Prices on the Region's Oil Importers and ExportersWASHINGTON, January 29, 2015 – The over-50 percent decline in world oil prices—from... Show More + US$115 a barrel in June 2014 to less than US$50 today—will have significant consequences for the economies of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. According to the World Bank’s latest MENA Quarterly Economic Brief the oil importers that are expected to gain include Jordan, Tunisia, Lebanon and Egypt. The trade balances for these countries could improve by up to 2 percent of GDP. The oil exporters will likely run larger fiscal and current account deficits or their surpluses will shrink substantially. “Oil importers will benefit from lower import and fuel subsidy bills, while exporters—some of whom depend on oil for 80 percent of their income—will lose export and fiscal revenues,” said Shanta Devarajan, World Bank Chief Economist for the Middle East and North A Show Less -

Judging by the futures market, where the price of oil for delivery in August 2015 is US$56 per barrel, there is little optimism about a recovery in oil prices. With cheap oil looking like it is here to... Show More + stay, the latest Quarterly Economic Bulletin offers a breakdown by country of the potential regional consequences. Here are the highlights: Gulf Cooperation Council (Loss) oil and gas revenues in 2013 accounted for over half of the Gulf economies’ GDP and 75% of total exports earnings. If prices stay low for a sustained period it is estimated that the region’s governments will face over a US$215 billion loss in oil revenues, more than 14% of their combined GDP. Gulf countries had on average been earning more than they spent, but the combination of rising government spending and falling oil prices could reverse that. The combined fiscal surplus of about 10% of GDP in 2013 could turn into a deficit of 5% of GDP. While they have significant reserves to cover any shortfalls, there are s Show Less -

The World Bank is introducing a new investment lending approach to capture this. Pending the approval of Lebanon’s Council of Ministers and its ratification by the Lebanese parliament, the Mobile Internet... Show More + Ecosystem Project (MIEP) aims to develop a local ‘internet ecosystem’ to help Lebanese talent to remain in the country, bring local skills up to international standards, and boost the global competitiveness of Lebanon’s traditional industries through ICT.Lebanon offers a unique regional testing ground for crowdsourcing and other open source innovation. It hosts a number of top universities in the Middle East and has a highly educated population, providing the critical base for putting ideas into practice. Many Lebanese are bilingual or trilingual, making it easier for them to develop of applications for international markets. The economy operates in multiple currencies. Lebanon has already developed many key elements of a technology ecosystem, including an incubator, ventur Show Less -

WASHINGTON, October 12, 2014 – The World Bank Group and the... Show More + Islamic Development Bank announced an agreement today to coordinate efforts on education as one of the most powerful instruments for reducing poverty and inequality and for laying the foundation for sustained economic growth. The initiative is aimed at developing joint strategies for improving education and training systems in member countries of both organizations, with a primary focus on the Middle East and North Africa region.“The Arab world has made impressive gains in ensuring access to education, but we know from the high levels of youth unemployment that urgent work is needed on the quality of learning,” said Jim Yong Kim, World Bank Group President. “Our goal is to draw on the complementary strengths of both organizations to develop strategies for the entire path from school to w Show Less -

WASHINGTON, October 10, 2014 – The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has long struggled to generate enough quality jobs for its large and increasingly educated workforce, but this can... Show More + be turned around. Governments can make significant strides in job creation by reforming policies used to protect politically connected companies, which would in turn promote competition, and ensure equal opportunities for all firms, according to a new regional World Bank study.Jobs or Privileges: Unleashing the Employment Potential of the Middle East and North Africa, launched today highlights the central role of promoting competition to stimulate private sector growth. It establishes that young and productive firms generate employment in the region’s economies. Policies to protect privileged insiders, however, have constrained competition, and stifled the growth and productivity of these firms.“The employment challenges of the MENA region are inextricably linked to its economic governa Show Less -

The millions of workers, consumers, and entrepreneurs who bear the cost of this are often unaware the impact these policies have on the opportunities to which they aspire. In Egypt, for example, aggregate... Show More + employment growth declines by about 1.4 percentage points a year when connected firms enter new business sectors. Without grasping this, the internal debate critical for economic reform is curtailed.In economies in MENA, like economies everywhere else, it is the start-ups and the most productive firms that are the engines of job creation. The report provides plenty of evidence to support this: in Lebanon, about 177 per cent of net job creation from 2005 to 2010 was generated by micro start-ups; in Tunisia, small startups created 580,000 jobs from 1996 to 2010—92 percent of all net job creation. Although it has fewer start-ups overall, Jordan provides a striking example of what entrepreneurs can achieve against the odds. Unable to tap start-up capital, a Jordanian couple who retur Show Less -

IBRD Loan: US $474.0 million equivalentTerms: Maturity = 20 years, Grace = 3 yearsProject ID: P125184Project Description: The project will address the chronic and severe water shortages faced by over half... Show More + of Lebanon’s population residing in the Greater Beirut and Mount Lebanon area who receive an average of only three hours of water per day. Show Less -

WASHINGTON, September 30, 2014 – A US$474 million World Bank Group project will address the chronic and severe water shortages faced by over half of Lebanon’s population residing in the... Show More + Greater Beirut and Mount Lebanon area who receive an average of only three hours of water per day and resort to illegal wells, expensive tanker trucks and bottled water for their home use.The Water Supply Augmentation Project, approved today by the World Bank Group’s Board of Directors, will reverse the impact of drought, depleted infrastructure and rapid population growth on the sustainable development of the water sector. The Islamic Development Bank and Government of Lebanon will provide parallel financing of US$128 million and US$15 million respectively.“This is a national project, of which over 1.6 million people living across the Greater Beirut and Mount Lebanon area will directly benefit. An estimated 30% of project beneficiaries live below the national poverty line,” sai Show Less -

“Water, water, the water’s come!” shouted Umm Majd, as she leaned over her balcony to check if what she had just heard really was water trickling in through the pipes. She and her neighbors rushed into... Show More + their apartments to fill bathtubs and whatever containers they could find before the water went off again. Not a single drop had reached her home for eight days.If there is one thing the Lebanese agree on, it is how bad the water situation is. Even electricity (which also suffers cuts) is mostly mentioned in the context of whether the power will be on when the water comes back—to run the washing machine, for example, or enable private tankers to pump water up into roof-top tanks.Ahmad Sbeity, a grocer in Beirut, can’t understand how a country like Lebanon—known for its rivers and springs—can be so short on water. He says he pays about US$1,200 for tanker water a year, and an additional US$600 for bottled drinking water. Added to that, the US$170 yearly flat fee per household for the muni Show Less -

BEIRUT, Lebanon, September 12, 2014 - A multi-donor trust fund designed to support Lebanese communities hosting Syrian refugees launched its first project on Friday (September 12, 2014) with the signing... Show More + of a US$10 million grant to municipalities most affected by an influx of more than 1.5 million people, roughly a quarter of Lebanon’s population.Minister of Finance Ali Hassan Khalil, Nabil Jisr, President of the Council for Development and Reconstruction, and World Bank Director for the Mashreq region Ferid Belhaj signed the grant and project agreements at an official ceremony at the Ministry of Finance. The event was attended by UN representatives and diplomats whose countries also are contributing to the Lebanon Syrian Crisis Trust Fund (LSCTF), namely Norway, Finland and France.Belhaj also signed an administration agreement with French Ambassador Patrice Paoli, allowing the transfer of a US$10 million French grant to the LSCTF, which holds about US$30 million in its coffers. N Show Less -

The success of the program allowed the WSC to de commission two desalination plants and reduce the level of water extraction from the island’s aquifer to levels not seen since the 1960s. The leakage in... Show More + the water distribution network “was around 4000m3/hr in 1995, yet [has] decreased to below 450m3/hr today”, according to Stephan Riolo, executive director of the network’s infrastructure in Malta.Malta clearly had lessons to share in reducing water losses and operating desalination plants. As part of their program of support for MENA countries, the World Bank therefore organized a conference on the small Mediterranean island that brought together 30 senior officials from major water utilities in Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories and Yemen.All the countries that participated are facing similar problems and have keen interest in reducing losses and improving the management of their water supply. Most said that in their experience, however, reducing water losses Show Less -

WASHINGTON, August 7, 2014: Egypt, Tunisia, Iran, Lebanon, Jordan, Yemen and Libya are trapped in a “poor policy – poor growth” cycle, which prevents their economies from moving to a sustainable growth... Show More + path, says the World Bank in the newly released Quarterly Economic Brief for the Middle East & North Africa region.The report, titled “Predictions, Perceptions and Economic Reality - Challenges of Seven Middle East and North Africa Countries Described in 14 Charts,” finds that the situation has gotten worse after the 2011 uprisings. Despite recent signs of economic improvement in Egypt and Tunisia, growth continues to be weak and cannot generate enough jobs. Fiscal deficits are still high and public debts are growing at a faster pace than before, leaving little space for growth-promoting investment. Private sector activity is sluggish, and the few jobs that are created in the public sector are filled through connections, leaving young people frustrated. Many workers move Show Less -

IBRD Loan: US $15.0 million equivalentTerms: Maturity = 7 years, Grace = 2 yearsProject ID: P143594Project Description: The objective of the project is to reduce industrial pollution in targeted Industrial... Show More + Enterprises and strengthen the monitoring and enforcement capabilities of the Minister of Energy. Show Less -

WASHINGTON, July 14, 2014—The World Bank Group announced this week the debarment of Information Computer Systems, CJSC (Incom) for three years for engaging in a fraudulent practice under the Ukrainian... Show More + Social Assistance System Modernization Project. When bidding for a contract under this Project, Incom submitted two forged certificates which falsely claimed that two proposed staff members possessed a tender-required professional certification. “This decision along with recent decisions made by the World Bank’s independent Sanctions Board highlights the World Bank Group’s commitment and contribution to ending poverty while paying equal attention to fraudulent and corrupt misconduct compromising the delivery of project results,” said Leonard McCarthy, World Bank Integrity Vice President. During the month of June 2014, the World Bank Group debarred Farhat Group Trading and Contracting Co. S.A.L. for 5.5 years for engaging in fraudulent practice under the Ba’albeck Water and Show Less -

ARADO is the training arm of the Arab League, and the Network of Experts is tapping into it to facilitate a regional training program that builds on existing resources in the various countries, addresses... Show More + common challenges, and capitalizes on existing strengths.“When it comes to the effectiveness of public procurement,” said MENA Regional Procurement Manager, Yolanda Tayler, “it is striking how similar many of the challenges that MENA countries face are, and how little has been done in the past to take advantage of cross-border training programs.”Capacity building programs often have problems in common. These include a lack of sufficient funding, the lack of an assessment of existing skills and competencies—and gaps—and the frequent exodus of highly-qualified staff to other government positions or to private companies offering higher pay.Many countries have taken a highly fragmented approach to capacity building, and have not yet been able to build a body of knowledge within the country Show Less -

Achievements to date include same-day repairs achieved at a level of 97 percent, more than 6,500 construction work orders executed to extend the grid and connect customers, 4,000 cases of non-technical... Show More + losses detected, enhanced collection activity resulting in transfers of almost $300 million to EDL, an initial investment plan of $90 million recoverable after only two years, and a smart metering pilot project in place.In addition, the company currently employs over 800 people at a time of high unemployment in the country and has opened a facility that includes a 24/7 call center, warehouse, smart meter laboratory, and an employee training center.“This is our first guarantee supporting an investment in Lebanon and it’s coming at a very important time,” says Edith P. Quintrell, MIGA’s Director of Operations. “Electricity supply shortages and distribution bottlenecks are leading constraints for corporate investment and greatly affect the quality of life for Lebanese citizens. We are Show Less -

AMMAN, June 4, 2014 – On his last day in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim visited the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan to bring global attention... Show More + to the plight of the refugees and the impact of the Syrian crisis on neighboring countries. Kim urged the international community to recognize the enormous role that Lebanon and Jordan are playing in absorbing the huge influx of refugees and to step up the aid effort to match the severity of the crisis.“The countries neighboring Syria, Jordan and Lebanon in particular, have assumed the responsibility of maintaining regional stability by taking in close to two million refugees,” said Kim outside the Zaatari refugee camp. “The international community must step in and do its part.”Along with drawing attention to immediate needs, Kim used the opportunity of his three-day visit to map out a vision of the region’s immense potential and the steps required to realize it. In a speech a day earl Show Less -

Your excellency, members of Parliament, faculty, students, friends,I would like to thank you for your gracious invitation and for bringing me together with the future, and by that I mean the aspiring students... Show More + from different universities in the audience. It is you who are called upon today to take your country forward.I’m here with what I hope will be a message of measured hope and optimism, to share a vision for a path forward, to a just and sustainable future in the Middle East and North Africa.I know that it is extraordinarily difficult to feel optimism in the shadow of the catastrophe unfolding in Syria. The scale is larger than anything you may have seen in your lives so far. It is larger than anything most of us have witnessed. Millions are refugees in their own land. Millions have sought refuge in neighboring countries: Turkey, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, and most of all Lebanon.But let me take you back to 70 years ago, to 1944, while the guns were still firing during World War II.It wa Show Less -